VA just published their proposed changes to Part three of 38 CFR and will soon only be accepting Form 21-0958 Notice of Disagreement instead of any old piece of paper you have lying around that doesn’t have too many coffee stains on it. The good old days of using the Tickle Me Elmo stationary to voice your imminent desire for appellate review are soon going to be history.
Here’s the article link to the Federal Register discussion. What’s next? Our way or the highway?
VA retiring Tickle me Elmo Form
asknod
Bethanie Spangenberg
kcraveiro
robinhoodesqvetsatty
Wesley McCauley
Veterans Claims Help 
I know this is an old post but seemed the best spot for my question. I plan to obtain an examination of my knees and lower back to submit with my NOD. Can that exam and medical opinion of my ailments be by a doctor who has treated me in the past or does it need to be from a completely independent doctor who has never treated me?
It sucks, can’t even get it w/o d/l latest Acrobat, and, of course my ‘official govment ‘puter’ is locked for d/l any executable file!
To add insult to injury, neither can VA Raters. They are using one jury-rigged via VBMS to allow earlier versions Like AA 2 which many smaller VAROs still are saddled with. Idiots’ delight.
This is just another barrier which a veteran must cross and there are already too many. They say that it’s to make digitization easier. Lie. Anything can be digitized. There are 11 pages of forms. All veterans do not have access to these forms via the Internet. All veterans do not have access to VSOs who can print the forms out. Comments are being taken for this proposed rule until 12/31/13. . ‘‘RIN 2900–AO81—Standard Claims and Appeals forms.
I think this should be challenged by mail or fax. The addresses/#’s are here:
Click to access 78FedReg65490Oct31_2013.pdf
This is an undue burden on veterans who only have access to a pen or pencil, some paper, envelope and 44 cent stamp. The VA forms are confusing and hard to write in the little boxes. Veteran need to be able to express their thoughts and NODS in their own words on their own paper and that right shouldn’t be taken away.
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You really need an Acrobat clone like PDF Nitro to fill this document out and to be able to save it. You won’t even be able to see the document nline without a current version of Acrobat reader.
How better to control those pesky Vets than impose their will upon us? Even when given the form, which will be filled out per instruction, shall find its way to the dark unknown dust bunny bin.